


In Another World

by Felandris



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Crestwood village, F/M, Old Age, Peace, Post Trespasser, conclusion, solavellan hell, wolf statue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-12
Updated: 2017-03-12
Packaged: 2018-10-03 00:31:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10231493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Felandris/pseuds/Felandris
Summary: Lavellan loved him with every cell of her body. But in the end she had to save the world...





	

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this short story because I was feeling down today. I moved to another country recently and there's a particular person I miss terribly...  
> I hope you like it.

Loud murmurs were carried away by the wind.

Lavellan was sitting at her porch, reading a book about herbs when she took a glimpse at the boys playing in the field.

Their sight put a little smile on her lips. Every day she would listen to them playing and shouting like wild august rams. She thought it was such a lovely day to spend it reading so she stood up and went into her house to prepare a basket.

She filled it with fresh fruits she had just gathered from her little garden. The smell of apples brought back memories of her clan. She missed them so much but she couldn’t go back there. She was neither the powerful Inquisitor nor their First anymore.

She hoped they were alright, at least. Things had been better. The world was finally recovering from its wounds. The only thing she desired, though, was not glory and honours but a quiet place and a little garden to tend.

Her wounded shoulder hurt a little when she picked the tablecloth with the knitted embrium flowers from her drawer. It was Leliana’s gift. She’d said it had reminded of her.

Finally, she searched for the tiny frilly cakes she had bought from Crestwood. Mehra at the bakery knew how to make these delights irresistible. And eating with company was always better than eating all by herself.

She let her apron on the table and walked inside for her spring hat. Her room was simple, wooden furniture, soft pillows and blankets to keep her warm during the night. She had various wooden sculptures lying around. She thought they seemed more horrible the more she looked at them. Using her feet and hand was difficult but she kept making them. Losing her hand wouldn’t stop her from living her life as she pleased.

Before leaving, she looked at the mirror and tucked white tufts of hair under the hat. Somehow it reminded her of Cole. She wondered if he was alright. If he was still out there helping people or if he had decided to return to the Fade forever.

Either way she was happy for him. Doing what he wanted, unbound and free... She smiled shyly at her reflection recalling Cole’s youthful and kind face. She hadn’t seen him recently but every time he looked exactly the same.

She thought about the rest of her companions when she left the house behind her. Some of them she had years to see. She wondered if they were still alive. If they had built a life or if they had tried to the way she had.

So many memories…

The sun felt warm on her clothes as she walked. Various smells invaded her nostrils but they were pleasant. Embrium had already started blooming everywhere and the smell of fresh elfroot tickled her nose as she walked to the hill. She loved spring because it made her body hurt less.

The sun, the fields, the little village and its people… It was a million times better than her estate in Kirkwall. She had lived there for six years but the streets and the people filled her with dread. As much as Varric had tried, leaving Kirkwall for Crestwood was inevitable.

“Can you toss us our ball, old lady?”

A child attracted her attention and she saw a leather ball rolling to her feet. She smiled to the sound of _old lady_. Had she aged so much that children saw her as such?

She let her basket down and tried to pick it up.

“That’s not an old lady, Deylen.”

Her ears picked slow murmurs and when she finally managed to catch their ball, she saw two of them walking to her. They seemed so young and cheerful. It reminded her of why she’d fought. Children smiling, breathing, playing…

It was worth it.

“Thank you.”

The older boy spoke first and Lavellan handed him the ball gently. She just smiled at them. They didn’t mind that she was an elf. Things had changed so much since…

“Do you need help carrying that?”

Deylen pointed at her basket.

“I think I can manage.” Her voice was still sweet despite the years. Time had treated her well but the scars of the past were still there to remind her.

“At least let me pick it up for you.”

The boy lifted the basket for her and she thanked him. She watched them running back to their friends and after a while she started walking, again.

 _Such a beautiful day_ … The thought put another smile on her dry lips. It made her keep walking faster despite the pain in her knees.

When she finally reached the top of the hill, she saw the sparkling sea in front of her. So many memories… Old Crestwood was still there, rotting day after day. She recalled their quests. The spirit they had met, the Mayor’s unspeakable crime, his cowardice…

She turned her tired eyes away and headed to the huge statue at the edge of the hill. The air tried to steal her hat but she managed to keep it in place. She found a nice spot at the shadow of the statue and placed her basket on the soft dirt.

Lavellan pulled the tablecloth and lay it down gently in order to sit . She allowed herself a moment to breathe, leaning back on the cold block of stone and moss. She felt it like a cold touch on her back. Not hurtful but familiar and soothing.

In the distance, someone could see Crestwood village from up there. However, she couldn’t. Not anymore. Her eyes had gradually started to lose sight of the world far away. But she didn’t mind. What she wanted to see was next to her.

“It is such a lovely day today…”

She removed her hat and put it on her lap. Then she lifted her head up slowly and looked at the old muzzle and detailed fur. “It is such a lovely day for cake, ma vhenan.”

Tears tried to escape from her eyes but she was strong and kept them in. Her fingers reached for the frilly cakes in her basket and after leaving one on the wolf’s paws, she looked at hers and thought of him. He enjoyed them so much. If he was still there with her…

She remembered him painting…

The way he mixed all the colour in his jars…

The way he looked at her after a tough fight…

The way he healed her…

The way he looked at her as if she was the most precious thing in the world.

But he had left and she had to choose.

The thought of him and the sight of those boys playing in the fields… The sight of a world rising from its ashes… The sound of people singing… It was what kept her sorrow and pain under control. She had to fight it every day, every hour, every minute. Most of the time she was victorious.

But sorrow also won and with it her bitter tears returned to make the pain in her heart worse.

“I hope you like it, ma vhenan…”

She took a bite from the baked batter and then leaned back on the statue.

The little cake rested between her fingers as her eyes shut. Tears found their way on her cheeks. They refreshed her warm skin the same way his fingers used to during their most intimate moments.

His touch, his face, his eyes…

It was all she wished to see.

The cake fell clumsily from her hand  and rolled for a while on the soft grass under the sun.

“Ar lath ma…”

Her head rested on the cold stone, peaceful and happy.

And she smiled.

Smiled until the tears stopped streaming down her cheeks. Smiled until every breath of hers finally stopped. Smiled as the wind played with her tangled hair.

She kept smiling until the sun disappeared behind the mountain peaks and her cake was eaten by ravens. And when the boys climbed up the hill, they saw her resting peacefully on the Dread Wolf’s statue.

She would see him, again. The man she loved with every cell of her tormented body. The man who hated the world she had chosen to save.

In another world, they would have aged together. In another world, they would have spent their days in front of the fire, hugging softly and whispering words of love to each other.

In another world…

He wouldn’t have to die alone.

_Solas._

Because they would’ve grown old together.

**Author's Note:**

> Ma vhenan: My Heart  
> Ar lath ma: I love you


End file.
